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(P.S. I almost called this “multi-porpoise furniture” to be silly but I didn’t want you guys to think I only buy furniture if it has dolphins on it. That would be weird. I haven’t done that since my Lisa Frank days.)

In my opinion, furnishing a house can be stressful. I’m a worry wart so I’m always over-thinking my furniture purchases. I don’t want to get a piece that is going to be seen as “trendy” and I’ll hate in a year or two. And I worry that it would be a “one hit wonder”. You know… the kind that you only find one use for and you can only use it in that one way. What if I change my mind? What if I want to move it?

USE #1- Well, as a Bookcase…

So when I actually do get new furniture, I always look for it to be multi-purpose and versatile. I want that baby to be able to hold just about anything and go anywhere! And I want fit with our style. Because if it fits our style, it will go with all the other pieces we love as well. And if it is versatile and fits our style, that piece is in it for the long haul.

If you have been around LPH for any length of time you probably have realized that I am crazy cheap. I HATE spending a butt-load of money on something when I can find something of similar style and quality for less money. (Random: did you know that a “butt-load” is an actual unit of measurement? Well it is. You’re welcome.) It is one of the reasons I have never bought anything from Pottery Barn. Yes, I’ll drool over their catalogs, but I can’t justify paying $700 on a bookshelf when I can find it somewhere else for less than a 1/3 that price.

And because I am such an incredibly kind and benevolent ruler of this slice of the internet, I wanted to share my amazing find with all of you. Seriously guys, Sauder is awesome. Sauder is this great company that manufactures high quality furniture at affordable prices. I got this great tall bookcase and gold storage ottoman for less than $250! And yes, in case you were wondering, those ah-mazing label plates came with the bookcase.

Our new DIY Tufted Wingback Headboard may be my all-time favorite project. I think I say that once a month, but seriously, it may take the cake for at least the next couple of months. And that is really saying something because I am still hardcore in love with Penelope, my stenciled dining room wall. And, if Penelope got a name, I think Heady should get a name. Partly because Heady is a really sucky name for something I love so much. Ooo! Oooo! Regina. Oh wait… now I’m thinking of Mean Girls. And now I’m thinking of people getting hit by buses. And failed trust falls. HA! (Back on track, Talitha!) …………… GOT IT! Arthur. Nailed it. Everyone… meet Arthur, the current inanimate love of my life. Arthur is tall, dignified, and oh so classy. He’s got a thing for buttons and gold. He has just the right bit of padding so snuggling up to him is great for both of us. He’s perfect.

The thrifty girl in me loves that all the ones I found online were around $800+ and we made ours for around $115. The DIY-er in me loves that we built it ourselves. The decorator in me loves that our room isn’t just a blank slate anymore. We are finally making progress on our master! I mean, come on, I showed you my inspiration board 6 months ago. Sheesh. The dirty girl in me likes that I can make “married people” type headboard jokes. If you get what I mean… nudge nudge, wink wink.

Anywho, let’s get on the the lotsa pictures/tutorial part of this post. Hold on, because it’s a doozy.

Guys! The dining room is done! The hubs and I worked our tails off, but we did it! When we last left off, I had shown you the awesome Color Visualizer tool from Sherwin-Williams that helped me pick out my paint colors. And I had also shared before shots of my not-so-awesome blue dining room. Let’s just say thank God it doesn’t look so crazy blue anymore. Just check out our new dining room makeover! Shebam! Kapow! Bezam! Some other cartoon sound word here! Yeah… the after is cartoon-sound-effect-good. Now let’s move on to some of the details…

Blah. That’s what I think when I see my dining room in its current state. It hasn’t undergone any real transformations except that I painted it the first week we moved in. I basically threw my grandmother’s hutch and my 120+ year old mahogany table in there and called it a day. I haven’t even put up blinds or curtains or anything…. “Hello neighbors! Don’t pay any attention to the lady who wears yoga pants all day everyday!” And I guess it isn’t necessarily even a dining “room” as much as a large eat-in kitchen area.